MYSTERY OBJECTS

[Tizer]

Oh well, that didn't last long! Stanley has got it in one - it's a rolling ruler used to draw parallel lines on maps, plans etc. This one was used on one of the cable ships that laid the earliest undersea cables in the 1800s and is now in the Telegraph Museum at Porthcurno.

[Stanley]

My dad gave me one when I was a lad and it fascinated me. Here's an earlier example of a parallel ruler made of Ebony.



Next one?

[Stanley]

What is it?

[Tizer]

Heads for a rock drill, used for boring rock or making holes for placing explosive in quarries and mines?

[Marilyn]

( where on earth do you keep all this stuff, Stanley?)

[Tizer]

I think his shed is like the Arab's tent in the old Popeye cartoons. If you remember, the tent was about the size of a garden shed on the outside but when you passed through the door the inside was as big as the Taj Mahal!

[Marilyn]

That's ok then Tiz. I'd hate to think of him only being able to shuffle sideways down little alley ways in his rooms, in danger of being buried alive if interesting objects were to topple.

[chinatyke]

Core drills or hole cutter set for drilling holes in concrete. In China there are workmen who tour around on motor bikes with these things looking for work. As most apartments are made of concrete it's a good business. I've used these guys several times for cutting holes for air con and water pipes. They surround the drill bit with a sheath made from a cut down 2 litres lemonade plastic bottle and spray the bit with water whilst they are cutting. Surprisingly they make little mess. Less than £5 a hole and when you consider the price of the tackle it's well worth it, even diamond encrusted bits don't last forever.

[Marilyn]

I have visions of high rise buildings with all the integrity of Swiss Cheese, China!

[Tizer]

China's description reminds me of builders trying to cut holes through the 18-inch thick walls of Blue Lias limestone in the older part of our house. There was no spraying of the bit with water but we lubricated the builders with copious quantities of strong tea!

[Stanley]

I once tried that Tiz at Hey Farm. The blue limestone was used at the base of walls because it was impervious to water, it was also harder than the hobs of hell! I tried drilling one with an old fashioned star drill, dull red sparks flew off it at every blow. Billy Entwistle found me at it and told me to give up and tunnel under it for the pipe, he was right, there were no foundations, the base stones were laid directly on the earth. (Must have been OK, the walls never moved but they were two feet thick....)
You are all right, it's for drilling holes but in specific circumstances and not stone. Clue, very often in a domestic situation.
Maz, don't worry, I am very good at tidy stowage of artefacts. Mind you, some would call it clutter!

[Gloria]

It's for drilling something thin and difficult to get to hence the extension shafts.

[Tizer]

This doesn't fit with Gloria's suggestion of thin material but ... brick, breeze block?

[Stanley]

You are all so close! They are tank cutters used for making the large holes needed in galvanised water storage tanks to install large fitments on them like Ball cocks and iron pipe plumbing. Obsolete now with plastic tanks, plastic fittings and hole saws.

Next one?

[Stanley]

[Tizer]

Mint imperials or moth balls!

[Stanley]

Curses! Moth balls...... Give us the next one as penance......

[Tizer]

And moth balls to you too! Here's my penance...what is it and who designed it?

[Stanley]

Nice one! I'm completely baffled by it. Looks as though it might be an alarm/warning device of some sort and I suspect the hook on the lower chain is significant. Wild guess, an early baby alarm?

[plaques]

Is it the source of the saying.. Knocked three bells out of them!.

[Tizer]

Null points, I'm afraid. Any other offers?

[PanBiker]

Is it some kind of static discharge apparatus, Micheal Faraday, Tesla, Wheatstone? Clutching at straws.

[chinatyke]

Is it the warning system which used to be erected in grave yards? A string was tied from the hook which led down inside the coffin in case somebody had been buried before his time?

[Tizer]

Panbiker is on the right track. It's not meant to be a warning system but a demonstration of something.

[plaques]

Following PanBiker's lead, An early demonstration of static electricity with two pith balls moving away when the centre bell was earthed. Who? Possibly Voltaire.